• Rosalind Lau and Carol A Morse.
• Health and Wellbeing Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria, Australia. rosalind.lau@med.monash.edu.au
• Aust J Rural Health. 2008 Feb 1; 16 (1): 5-11.

ObjectiveThe health and wellbeing of urban and rural Anglo- and Italian-Australian residents was compared using five domains which are deemed to influence the outcome 'ageing well'. The five domains included physical and functional status, social supports, material resources, activity and leisure, and mental efficacy.DesignA cross-sectional survey carried out in a two-stage data collection process included a brief telephone interview and face-to-face interview using semistructured schedules with several psychometric measures.SettingsEastern and Western Melbourne and Mildura, Victoria, Australia.Main Outcome MeasuresHealth and wellbeing of urban and rural community-dwelling Anglo- and Italian-Australian men and women aged 50-89 years.ParticipantsUrban and rural community-dwelling Anglo- and Italian-Australian men and women aged 50-89 years. There were 364 urban Anglo-Australians, 149 rural Anglo-Australians, 190 urban Italian-Australians, and 77 rural Italian-Australians.ResultsUrban Anglo-Australian residents reported significantly higher general and emotional health but also reported significantly higher stress levels than their rural counterparts. The rural Italian-Australian residents reported higher resilience and personal control but poorer general and emotional health than the urban residents.ConclusionIf health disparities between urban and rural residents are to be successfully addressed, the link between place of residence, health status and wellbeing must be explored.

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